1. Field of the Invention
The inventions disclosed and taught herein relate generally to a system and method for practicing athletic skill; and more specifically relate to a system and method for practicing skills such as athletic field agility and reaction time.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of teaching machines for sports, such as baseball and tennis have been proposed. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,036 a tennis teaching machine has a ball hopper slidably mounted on a vertical support. A hollow extension arm protrudes from the ball hopper and has a ball projection mechanism at the end. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,372 a series of balls are successively released from a ball magazine and deflected into a batter's hitting zone. The batting practice device comprises a ball magazine and associated ball release mechanism supported on a substantially vertical support post above an apparatus for deflecting a ball discharged from the ball magazine. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,802 a batting practice apparatus is provided wherein the same permits selective delivery and angular positioning and speed of a baseball directed at an associated batter. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,010 a ball dispensing machine is disclosed for practicing hitting that includes a carrier mounted on a stand having both a load end and a discharge end. The device relates to positioning a ball, of any variety, in a position desired by the individual for automatically or manually delivering succeeding balls to the desired position after each ball is struck by the individual. The prior art thus discloses devices that may have one exit for a ball wherein a delivered ball may have a predetermined path, such as toward a batter or tennis player's hitting zone.
The inventions disclosed and taught herein are directed to an improved method and system for practicing athletic skills.